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Text Garm, the last remaining Black Wolf, snarled as it paced back and forth: it had torn through one of the walls of Ponyville and smashed down two houses, terrifying the handful of Nibelung workers... but Illyria and Greece had hurriedly distributed weapons and sounded the alarm, and other armed and armored dwarves had joined the fray, fighting the monster back before it could do more than smash another home to pieces even as its rot spread like contagion through the ground and presence sent frost spilling along the earth. Half a dozen Nibelung had died and others were wounded, but they had fought on... and when Luna had joined them, her support had permitted them to further drive back the monster and force it into the fields outside Ponyville. The winged unicorn was exhausted, her mind torn between her duty to protect Looking Glass Equestria and her desire to find Scrivener Blooms after she had felt... an indescribable, hostile strangeness, and the link between them had become riddled with static. It distracted her from the battle, but thankfully, there was little danger: all she had to do was fly around at a taunting level as the Nibelung hauled barrels of oil into the field. Garm lunged at her as her mind wandered again despite her best efforts to concentrate, and Luna looked up too little, too late before the paw smashed into her, knocking her flying and crashing through a barrel of oil before she howled in pain, rolling rapidly as her body steamed at the contact with it and Nightmare Moon flinched inside her. It was blessed oil, possibly all the way from Valhalla, and Luna cursed under her breath as she shoved herself to her hooves and then leapt backwards when Garm bit down at her, the Black Wolf biting only into the field and the puddle of oil before Luna began to rear back, shouting: "Foul monster!" Then she winced as Nightmare Moon and her instincts both shouted at her, and instead she shoved herself up into the air, taking quick flight with a curse of frustration. If she blasted the monster with magic, it could set the oil on her own body alight as well... and it burned enough as it was without the addition of purifying flame as she muttered: "Accursed oil. Accursed Valhalla... what are the Nibelung even doing?" Garm barked at her and lunged, clawing at her, and Luna threw herself backwards out of the way before she looked up and saw Greece gesturing wildly at her... and the winged unicorn grunted as she shot towards the Nibelung in the distance as he yelled something. Immediately, another Nibelung ran forwards and threw a torch as Luna sped towards where Greece was waving at her and Garm turned to give chase... and then Luna winced and hastily twisted herself higher into the air as the torch landed in a puddle of oil from a barrel that had been knocked over. The Black Wolf, still fixated on her, missed the sight of the torch falling into the pond of holy oil... and it looked down too little, too late, as it staggered right into the wall of fire that burst into life in front of it, shrieking before several barrels to either side of this exploded in blasts that rocked the monster back and forth. It was saturated with holy fire as Luna shot towards the sky, watching from a safe distance with incredulity as Garm howled in misery... then snarled savagely even as it burned, a monster wreathed with an aura of golden flame that dragged itself through the growing inferno towards a now-fleeing group of Nibelung as Greece winced and staggered backwards. He fell over with a grunt and a curse as Garm loomed forwards, growling even through the golden flames rapidly consuming it, as seemingly-unstoppable as Fenrir... and then Luna shot down with a snarl, picking up an unused barrel of oil with telekinesis and snapping it in a hard throw towards the monstrous wolf, and it collided firmly with the side of the creature's face before exploding in a blast powerful enough to send Greece flying backwards with a strangled yelp, crashing to the ground and rolling painfully several times before he came to a smoldering halt. Garm, meanwhile, was knocked staggering, its jaw shattered and hanging stupidly open as it trembled violently, gasping several times before it attempted to lunge and froze solid halfway, rapidly petrifying and tottering weakly before it collapsed forwards, and the golden flames covering its body went out with one great gasp of smoke and ash. Luna touched down to the ground beside Greece, and she gave him a flat look as the Nibelung grinned back at her awkwardly before he rubbed slowly at his singed features. Then the winged unicorn sighed and rolled her eyes, wrinkling her muzzle at the stench of burning hair and the bittersweet oil she had been splattered with as it continued to steam faintly against her body, muttering: "Please do not die, dwarf. Thou art perhaps the single entity in this accursed place I actually like." "Thank you, Luna. We all owe you tremendously." Greece said quietly, and Luna sighed, then gently helped him stand up, the Nibelung wheezing in pain as he forced himself to his hooves and then grabbed at his face with a mumble. "My ears are ringing from that last blast, though, and my retinas feel burnt... that... that thing was one of the Black Wolves, wasn't it?" "Aye, but worry not. I feel with a strange confidence they are all dead... and 'tis not merely because I took down Fenrir myself." Luna halted, then moodily looked over the petrified remains of the monstrosity in front of them, the statue silently resting forwards on its face and half-extended paws. "It is dead, correct? The fire did not just neutralize it?" Greece shook his head tiredly, then glanced over his shoulder as Illyria and other Nibelung began to approach, and he smiled awkwardly at them with a raised hand to indicate he was okay before Illyria began furiously: "That oversized rat has set back weeks' worth of work! The damaged houses are bad enough but the ground and terrain has been poisoned and devastated, and-" Luna rose a hoof and shot him a dark look, and Illyria petered slowly to a halt before the winged unicorn asked quietly: "What of the dead?" Illyria glanced towards Greece, who looked quietly back... and then a Nibelung rose a hand and said nervously: "Seven die dead. More wounded." The winged unicorn nodded, then glanced towards Greece... but the artificer was now hesitantly examining the petrified Black Wolf, apprehensively touching the surface of the statue and looking slowly over it. So instead, Luna returned her eyes towards Illyria, asking quietly: "Thou art supposedly smart, even in the ways of thine kin. Tell me,what funeral preparations shall be made?" Illyria looked dumbstruck at this, rubbing awkwardly at his head before he finally looked at the dwarves, and they simply glared at the Architect before Luna sighed and shook her head, muttering: "What use is thine intellect if it alienates thee from everyone around thee, dwarf? Very well, Nibelung. Tell me what thou does to honor the dead." "Burn the bodies of the warriors." A Nibelung said quickly, raising a hand. "Send them with hope to better-life, not in Niflheim." "Not in Niflheim, aye, that is a better life, is it not?" Luna smiled a bit at this even as tiredness flickered through her body, and then she said softly: "I shall honor thine dead side-by-side with thee, if thou will permit it. Aye, most days I may beat and bludgeon and abuse thee all, but here thou have all fought and died for Equestria. Thou hast earned the right to call it our Equestria. I respect that." The Nibelung looked awkwardly at one another, but Luna didn't wait for an answer, instead striding towards Greece as she glanced towards the burning field... but the golden flames were rapidly dying down on their own now, even though more normal-looking fires had ignited here and there throughout the grasses... but they were slow-moving, the flames dark and heavy, the rot and frost that had spread from the destructive influence of the black wolf suppressing the worst of the damage and stopping the fire from becoming dangerous. It was one force of destruction canceling out another... and yet Luna didn't know why she still felt such foreboding as she asked quietly: "Well, what is it?" "It's... hollow." the Nibelung said finally, and Luna frowned at this before Greece turned and struck the shell of stone firmly, and cracks spread through the petrified rock before he gritted his teeth and slammed his fist firmly against the side of the statue's body again, and it shattered inwards, Luna staring in shock as she saw that indeed, there was nothing inside anymore. "Obviously these things are dead... but whatever those Black Wolves were, they... well, I don't even want to guess at it." "Aye." Luna murmured, looking silently at the shell and feeling a chill of foreboding... and then she shook her head slowly, muttering: "Very well, we shall save the deadly guessing games for later... but only because I sense that my husband draws near, and with him walks Odin. Our link is..." She shook her head a bit, and Greece looked at her with concern before she smiled faintly, saying quietly: "I am fine. It is merely... stress and exhaustion. I have defeated two Black Wolves of Hell today, after all, Greece, and am soaking in holy oil. Do a tremendous favor for a Valkyrie in a state of vulnerability: go to the spa building in Ponyville and run the hottest bath in the largest tub you can." Greece smiled a bit at this, and then he looked up in surprise as Illyria added quietly: "I shall take over cleanup operations for the moment, artificer. It is under my obligations, anyway, I am the Architect here. Nibelung... fellows... let us return to the village. And fancy-corn... I suppose a thank you is in order." "Yes, but do not strain thyself, Illyria, it is not expected." Luna retorted, and Illyria gave her a sour look, but then the two nodded slowly to one another before the group of Nibelung headed into the village, leaving Luna alone with the hollowed-out statue. She glanced at it silently, reaching a hoof up to rub over it, remembering how Fenrir too had turned to stone when killed... and she wondered silently if these terrible abominations were creations of some wicked but skillful hand, hands that had shaped the hollow shells, then poured so much evil, so much malice, so much destruction and corruption into them that they had taken on life as the Black Wolves. She shook her head slowly, shuddering a little at what it implied... and then sighed a bit as she walked quietly around the statue, and smiled faintly over the burnt and charred battlefield, damaged Ponyville at her back. All the same, they had triumphed. They had wreaked a horrible vengeance upon the monsters that had destroyed their entire world... even though by now, Luna was well-aware the beasts had also been significantly weaker. She had not even needed to move the moon... not that she would have dared to bring another eclipse about anyway, with the chance that the monsters would shatter the ivory bauble in the sky... or worse, she would lose herself again to the temptations of power. She shook her head quickly at this thought as memories and emotions and terrible feelings twisted through her, from disgust to enticement... and then she closed her eyes and lowered her head forwards, muttering: "Scrivener has faced more than a battle with a Black Wolf, it seems... the closer he comes, the clearer I taste his thoughts and see his memories..." She sat in silence for ten minutes, head bowed, half-brooding despite the tremendous victory they had accomplished... and then she finally looked up as Odin and Scrivy approached, the winged unicorn smiling faintly, eyes locked on her husband. She stepped forwards, and they nuzzled each other slowly before embracing tightly, pressing their bodies close together as ivy necklace and glinting metal collar rubbed together... and then they slowly drew apart as Odin said quietly: "I saw most of the battle, Scrivener Blooms. And I do not merely mean the fact that you showed remarkable strategy under pressure that I do not recall witnessing in you before... I mean also the shouting match with the invisible entity." Scrivener twitched awkwardly, and Luna grimaced a bit as she looked up at Odin, asking in a voice more imploring than frustrated: "Can we not put this aside until later, old lecher? Please. My husband is tired and beaten. In honesty, I am tired and beaten. And thou does not look very well thyself, although I express it less out of concern for thee and more because I do not wish to have this conversation now. Can thou not let the subject rest, permit sleeping dragons to lie, and us to revive ourselves before we speak of this?" Odin began to open his beak... and then he glanced towards the hollow statue of Garm, grimaced a bit, and instead reached into his jacket for his ambrosia. He took a deep sip of it, swirling it back and forth, then swallowed with a grimace before looking down at the flask... and offering it towards the ponies. "Don't be shy. I've shared my canteen with a horse before in times long passed now. I imagine this is no less hygienic." "Please do not compare us to riding horses ever again." Luna said moodily, and then she hesitated before shaking her head quickly, adding finally: "Nay, Scrivy and I will relax in Ponyville and that will be enough to revive us. We need not thy drugs and magical concoctions, cyclops. Go peddle thy miracles to fools who cannot make their own fortune." Odin chuckled dryly at this, then he glanced towards Scrivener Blooms, but the earth pony bit his lower lip and shook his head as he forcibly drew his eyes away... and for a few moments, the one-eyed once-god looked at him measuringly before he nodded slowly and corked the flask, saying quietly: "There is more strength in someone who feels and resists temptation than a pure-of-heart oaf who will never understand what it's like to face down longing and desire. Very well, Brynhild, I will... let this topic pass for the moment. But we will speak of it." "Aye, but in due time. There is no rush, Odin, the Bifrost has shattered... 'twill be more than a week this time before it repairs itself in the ether for us to use." Luna replied quietly, and Odin nodded gravely at this, the winged unicorn looking up at him with an awkward smile. "But... thou hast my thanks, at least for this." Odin nodded... then he sighed a bit and turned, sitting awkwardly down beside the statue with a grimace and looking moodily up at the sky overhead as he leaned back against the petrified shell of Garm. "It's fine, Brynhild. When I think for a moment, it becomes clear that for now, I may be better off not knowing anyway. We will talk in time then... for now, let us instead focus on the good." "Aye. There is much good, no matter how much bad also exists." Luna said quietly, trading a soft look with Scrivener... and then the two ponies bowed their heads politely to the once-god, and he gave a small smile, raising a hand to them as they turned and headed towards Ponyville. A group of Nibelung were already hard at work cleaning up some of the wreckage, Illyria supervising and looking over one of the destroyed homes, and the ponies carefully and quietly made their way through the damaged zone and deeper into Ponyville. They walked in silence, Scrivy's eyes on the ground and Luna looking at him with soft concern, walking closely enough that their sides almost touched. They halted outside the spa, standing awkwardly for a moment before Scrivener finally gave her an awkward smile, and Luna gazed back as her mane and tail sizzled softly and settled back behind her, leaning down as she said quietly: "Thou art such a mess, Scrivener Blooms. A horrid, awful mess." "I know, I know. I'm sorry, I am." Scrivener replied softly, and then he winced when Luna headbutted him gently, then pushed their skulls together, the male closing his eyes as their foreheads pressed tightly against one-another's before their muzzles slowly, quietly rubbed together side-by-side. Thoughts and emotions traded back and forth, and then Luna smiled faintly and leaned back, nodding once and saying quietly: "Alright, Scrivy. Come, to the bubble bath. We shall relax, discuss ill thoughts if we must... but only if we must. 'Tis difficult to be frustrated in a bubble bath, is it not?" "I dunno. We're both very good at being frustrated, aren't we?" Scrivener replied with a bit of a smile, and Luna laughed a little as she nodded slowly. Then the two turned towards the spa doors, walking side-by-side as their thoughts and memories and emotions swirled slowly together, both of them feeling such a wild mix of emotions that it left them all but numb to what had happened and with only concern for one-another bubbling through their mixed soul. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story